New Life On Hiatus
by strangest
Summary: Christine didn't expect to be moved to America after her parents death. She also didn't expect to find a new family or to learn the truth about the death of her parents. Who would have guessed Denali would turn out so interesting? *I wish to rewrite it and make it better*
1. Chapter 1: Late For Lesson

I had already unpacked my bags, rearranged the room and my stuff around it five times. There was simply nothing else I could do that would delay me having to go downstairs and meet the other children in this hell hole.

I had been given the smallest and only spare room in the orphanage that my Aunt owned, when I arrived. The house was big in terms of what most people had but the neigh dozen children that lived here made it feel too crowded.

Aunt Lizzy was now my only surviving relative. I couldn't say I liked her much so far, and it didn't seem as if the others here liked her either.

She had already enrolled me at the local high school. That, by the way, had been my greeting upon stepping foot in the house: "School starts tomorrow. Here's a notebook". Thankfully one of the kinder girls here had given me a pen to use for tomorrow as well.

America was certainly turning out to be a lot different to England. I had already gotten confused over the different words they used when I went to get a taxi. Britain was also much colder than most of America, though it seemed that Denali, Alaska was the countries equivalent of Scotland. In other words, it was cold.

The clothes which I owned, although they were slightly suited to the cold, were definitely not suited to Alaskan weather. Whatever spare money I got, I would have to spend on getting better clothing.

I sighed and hauled myself off the bed and went to greet the kids in this dump. Might as well try and make some friends.

Yesterday's meet and greet had been a disaster. I hadn't even stepped a foot into the room where everyone was watching TV, before one of them had greeted me with my new nickname, 'four-eyes'.

I had stood my ground at least and congratulated him on his being Sherlock Holmes. He didn't like it very much but didn't respond after that. Thankfully nothing else was said or done. I suppose, that it wasn't a total disaster.

I pulled my jacket about me tighter for warmth. It was only a thin type coat, not really suitable for the snowy Alaskan weather. The others had given me sympathetic looks for my clothing this morning as we left the house for school. What I had definitely wasn't suitable to be living in Alaska, but I didn't have anything else. I doubted good old Aunt Lizzy would buy me knew cloths.

From what the children had filled me in on, she was an alcoholic. Always in her office smoking and drinking. I couldn't even doubt their claims. I had walked past her office this morning on the way to breakfast and it stank of alcohol and smoke. And that had been with the door shut. The kids had also said she hardly ever came out. Eating at a different time to the rest of us and other silly things. She didn't go shopping apparently, but ordered it in. Some care giver she is.

I followed the others on the cold walk to school. We made it eventually to a smallish building. There mustn't be a lot of children in Denali. It was only a small town after all. One of them pointed me in the direction of the reception.

I walked up to the counter and the lady stood up quickly and handed me a piece of paper, "You must be Christine Woods," she said.

"Yeah," I said looking at her confused. "How did-"

"Oh, we don't get a lot of new people round here," she said. "That's your schedule and a map of the school. There's also a piece of paper that you need to get every teacher to sign."

I nodded my head in understanding. She let me go with a smile. I found my locker number on the timetable, and made my way there. I dumped my lunch and jacket in there for now so I didn't have to carry it all day.

I looked down at my schedule and looked at the lessons for the first couple of periods of the day. First lesson was history with Mr Fitzherbert and second lesson was english literature with Miss Denali. I shoved the schedule in my Jean pocket after folding it, and looked next at the map. Okay, so, history was in room 103 on the first floor, which was...Urr...that way somewhere. I think.

I walked down the corridor as I tried to find the doors that led to any stairs that would take me upwards. After looking for five minutes I heard the bell for the start of lessons go off. Students emerged from various classrooms and the hallways were full of life and noise.

"Excuse-" I tried to get the attention of someone who might be able to point me in the right direction, but no one seemed to hear me, or they just outright ignored me.

I sighed and started to go in any direction. As the number of people started to dwindle I eventually found the stairs. I walked up and came out near the room 120. Great, only seventeen classrooms to find as my guide to 103.

When I finally found the classroom I knocked on the door. An old and balding man, who was particularly round, answered the door. He didn't look very happy to see me. He put his hand out while glaring at me slightly and looking me up and down. That last action made me extremely uncomfortable.

I shuffled on my feet as he looked at me and then handed him the slip the receptionist gave me. He signed it and passed it back to me.

"You may sit there at the front, Miss Wood," He said. "And you will wait behind after class."

Despite Mr Fitzherbert being completely weird. The girl sat on the desk next to mine had assured me that he was the resident pervert. Every school had one. A teacher, usually male, that all the students were certain was creepy and perverted. And he had sat me right at the front of his class, just fan-fucking-tastic. He droned on for the whole hour and a half in the most monotone voice he could manage.

Eventually the time came for him to dismiss us. The sudden change and volume in his "Class dismissed!" made me jump. I had nearly been falling asleep, with my head resting on my hand. The girl next to me laughed but carried on with her way out the door.

I gathered my things quickly, and started a fast walk to the door. Hopefully he had forgotten that he had asked me to stay.

"Miss Wood, a minute if you would." He called.

I turned to find him in front of me. I shuffled nervously.

"Why were you late to my lesson?" He demanded.

"I got lost and couldn't find the classroom," I told him honestly.

"Well, next time ask someone," He said coldly. "You will wait here for the five minutes that you were late to my lesson."

"But, sir, I-" I tried to argue.

"No buts," He said. "You will be late for your next lesson as well. Hopefully the teacher of that one will punish you for being late."

I didn't say anything but glared at his back as I stood by the door at the front of the classroom. He started to allow the students for his next class to enter the room. He allowed them to chat for a minute as they found their seats. All the while every single student gave me odd looks.

Finally once the class had settled down he allowed me to go. Reminding me to not be late the next time.

I huffed and pulled out my map and schedule sullenly. This was turning out to be an awful first day. My first teacher of the day hated me, and now because of his apparent dislike, my next teacher would as well. I looked down at the timetable and saw that the next lesson was literature with Miss Denali, in room 024.

I headed down the stairs that I had used to get to Mr Fitzherbert's class. The halls were defly silent by now, and I was becoming more frustrated by the minute. I could feel my cheeks were becoming flushed with anger at myself. Why didn't a simple map make sense?

I walked hastily down a corridor hoping it was the right one. A door was suddenly opened in front of me. Before I could stop walking or put my hands out, it had hit me square in the face and sent me flying backwards onto my bum.

I groaned and put my hand to my nose, which hurt the most from my collision.

"Oh my gosh," A voice quickly trilled. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright, sweetie?"

I didn't reply as I tried to get my bearings. My nose really hurt. I looked to where a woman with blonde curly hair was knelt beside me. Her hand was resting on my shoulder as she searched me for injury. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

She scrunched her nose and pursed her lips as her eyes landed on my nose. Her eyes were a really strange but beautiful butterscotch colour.

"I think you should come with me to medical to get cleaned up," she spoke softly and apologetically.

I nodded my head and she helped pull me up with surprising strength. She was quite short, somewhere around 5"5', but she was still taller than myself. I was only a staggering 5"2'.

"I'm Miss Denali, the school nurse," She spoke as she lead me down the hallway.

"Oh, I thought I had you for English?" I asked giving her a confused look.

She chuckled, "That would be my sister that you have for English".

"Ah, that makes sense," I said.

"Was that where you were heading now?" She asked.

"Yeah, it was." I confirmed, my voice was slightly muffled by the hand I had kept over my nose. I had a nose bleed from the door.

We made it to a little room that had a bed against the far wall. There were cabinets on the back wall, and a counter underneath with a sink.

"Take a seat," she said gesturing to the bed.

I had to jump up a little to reach it, as it was higher up than a normal bed. I swung my feet over the edge and kept them swinging as I waited for Miss Denali to look through the cupboards.

She pulled out a box of tissues, and turned to hand them to me after opening them. I took one and shoved it under my nose catching the blood.

She approached and asked if I would mind her taking a look. Her fingers were freezing, but felt lovely against my sore nose. She felt around the edge of the bone and up to the corner of my eyes (she had to lift my glasses a little). She then kept one hand on my nose which gently squeezed the end of the bone.

"Well your nose isn't broken," Miss Denali said. "If you could hold your nose where my fingers are that would be great."

As she moved her hand it trailed ever so slightly down my cheek. I may not have noticed it if i wasn't so aware of her in that moment. Shrugging it off as accidental, I replaced it with my own, gently pinching it just as she had. She moved to the counter where she pulled out a book and started writing some things down.

"What's your name, sweetie?" She asked me.

"Christine Woods," My voice sounded funny.

She smiled and turned back to the paper she was writing on. She glanced at the clock and wrote something else down.

There was something about her that struck me as odd. She was friendly and caring, which was nice for a change, but her physical appearance was strange.

Her eye colour was like nothing I had seen before, and her skin was cold and beautifully pale. As was she, but that was just it. She seemed too attractive to be normal.

"Are you sure you are alright?"

I was snapped from my thinking when I found her stood in front of me with her hands on my shoulders. I blushed and looked down, having not seen or heard her come so close, much less anything she said.

"Yeah," I assured her still looking at my lap. "I'm fine,"

"Okay," she said still looking at me with concern. She tilted my chine up so that I was looking at her. "Has your nose stopped bleeding yet?"

I took the tissue away from my nose. The tissue was soaked red, but there wasn't anything running from my nose anymore.

"Right, well, now that's stopped you're free to go back to class," Miss Denali said. "I'll walk you there to explain what happened to the teacher."

I nodded my head, and stood with her as she held the door open. The walk there was silent and I thought over what had happened. She had hit me with a door. More precisely, the school's nurse had hit me with the door and caused me injury. The irony was just too much and I couldn't help but laugh.

Miss Denali looked at me as we walked. She raised an eyebrow as we kept walking.

"What?" She asked looking bemused.

"It's just ironic," I said. "The school nurse causing me injury."

She laughed at that, "Yes, well, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to,".

"It's okay, I know you didn't." I reassured her. "And despite the pain, it's made my day better because of the sheer silliness."

She smiled at me as she stopped in front of a door, though her eyes still looked troubled, as if she was searching for any sign of another injury. She looked away and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later it was opened by another blonde woman. They did look like sisters. Although, this woman had straighter blonde hair and was a lot taller than her sister.

"Hello, Miss," she greeted her sister, clearly amused at having called her that.

"I have a student of yours, I do believe." She started to explain. "We, ur, had a bit of a run in earlier and so she has been with me in medical."

"Oh," Miss Denali said. "Are you alright?" She asked me. Looking to me for the first time. I nodded my head shyly, blushing at the attention I was receiving from both of them at once. It didn't help that she was just as beautiful as her sister.

"I'll see you later," The nurse said to her sister. "And have a good day Miss Woods. I hope I don't have to see you back there too soon."

I waved to her a little than turned to my teacher who led me into the class full of children. There was an ache in my chest that had started as Tanya walked away.

"Take a seat anywhere there is one," She said.

There was only one seat, however, at the front of the class. I sighed quietly to myself as I made my way over and sat down. She smiled at me before turning back towards the class. The rest of the lesson went smoothly, ignoring the ache that i felt in my chest. Miss Denali had them write a summary of their favourite book including anything they could about themes and other literature factors, as she had called them.


	2. Chapter 2: Not Again

Break was announced by the bell and Miss Denali dismissed us. I got up with everyone else and made my way out into the hall. The majority of the students seemed to be heading towards the cafeteria. The lunch hall was crowded when I entered but there were still plenty of empty tables for people to sit at. I chose myself one at the very back. I know that I must have looked pretty sad sat on my own at the back.

I sighed and pulled an apple from my bag to eat. The pain in my chest hadn't gotten any worse but it hadn't left me either. It wasn't too painful, but was noticeable enough to make me miserable.

I had a free period next. I was hoping to use my map, successfully this time, to find the library. I planned to just sit and relax and hopefully the pain in my chest would decrease or stop completely. I was thinking that it may be being caused by stress. I had only a half a year earlier lost both of my parents at once. Then I had to wait for the courts to decide what would happen to me and see if they could find any living relatives. That's when they found Aunt Lizzy. They then shipped me off to America to live with her without much warning.

The pain would probably stop occurring once I relaxed and settled into my new home and school.

Tanya had felt it the moment she looked into the girls eyes. They had finally found the missing puzzle piece of her and her sisters joined souls. She did admit that she didn't take into consideration that the girl wouldn't even be of age when they met. Her and her sisters had fantasised about all the things they would do when they met. Of course that was before they knew that she was under age, and human at that. But that didn't mean that they wouldn't take care of her and tell her how much she meant to them.

It had pained her to leave her mate, but knowing that she was safe with Kate as her teacher eased her somewhat. She knew Kate had also felt the pull to her. They had both managed to cover their joy and excitement well, if only for appearances sake. The knew, however, that it wouldn't be long before they would have to convince her somehow to live with them. It would kill them to have to wait and live apart from her for too long.

"Tanya," her name was whispered as Kate came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her.

Tanya spun around to face Kate with happiness in her eyes and a grin on her face. Kate's own features displayed the same joy as Tanya's.

"I can't wait to tell Irina the good news," Kate said.

Tanya nodded her head in agreement, but she was starting to think of ways that she could introduce the two without causing the girl suspicion which might push her away.

"Come on," Kate said suddenly with excitement. "I want to see if she's in the cafeteria."

Tanya groaned slightly, "Kate, we can't just stalk the poor girl. It's probably already going to be enough when she realises that there are three of us who are in love with her."

"True," Kate said with consideration and then broke out into a grin again. "But I can't stop thinking about her."

Tanya seemed to lose the battle at this. She nodded her head and let Kate lead her by the hand. She too couldn't stop thinking about the girl. She was just being cautious. She didn't want to scare the girl away as that would be terrible, seeing as they had only just found her.

When they made it to the cafeteria, it didn't take them long to find her. She was sat at the back of the room on a table all by herself. She looked incredibly lonely and sad, but mostly she looked like she was in pain. Tanya hadn't noticed earlier but she looked extremely tired, as if she hadn't slept well for a while.

Tanya had to quickly grab Kate when she whimpered and went to run across the room to the girl. She pulled them quickly from the room before anyone saw them. It really hurt to leave Christine behind that time, knowing that she was in pain somehow.

Kate struggled against her arms for a minute as Tanya pulled her into herself. She eventually calmed down and held onto Tanya with renewed sadness.

"We have to tell her," Kate suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Tanya asked, as she pulled back to look at Kate.

"Everything," she said back. "About us. What we are and what she means to us. I don't think I could stand to see her like that everyday and not be able to do anything." The last part came out softer than the first and she clutched tighter to Tanya.

"I know," Tanya said. "But we will tell Irina first. Then we'll talk it out with everyone and come up with a plan. We will do something, I promise, but just not yet."

Christine managed to find her way to the library without too many wrong turns. She found herself a quiet corner and began reading a book she had brought with her. When coming to Alaska she had made sure that all her books had been packed and made it here with her.

After a while she decided to check the time. As she looked at the time she realised that she was late for her last lesson of the day, creative writing with Miss Denali, again. Hopefully she could blame it on being lost. Then again, she had technically already been to her classroom before.

She ran down the halls as fast as she could. She didn't run too fast though. She still had to use the other classroom door number to navigate the halls. She rounded another corner just as sharply and quickly as the ones she had before.

She fell backwards as she collided with something hard. A wall perhaps? She then heard a melodic laugh, and realised it was a person. She looked up at the strawberry blonde school nurse with a smile. Tanya's hand stretched out and Chrissy took it without complaint.

"Late for lesson again?" Tanya asked teasingly.

"Yeah," she said.

"Where are you heading?" She asked.

Chrissy mumbled a reply and looked very embarrassed. She could already feel the blush that was creeping up her cheeks. Tanya raised an eyebrow but waited patiently for her to answer.

She sighed, "Miss Denali's class. Again" she said at last. Although it was still an embarrassed whisper, Tanya could hear it clearly. She grinned at the girl, surpressing any laughter.

"I guess I'll have to escort you to make sure you get there," Tanya said happily. Anything that could get her more time with Christine was worth doing.

Christine smiled, though she wasn't sure why. She then realised with a start that the ache in her chest had somewhat subsided since running into Tanya. It was strange but she felt better around Tanya, safer even. There was a force that seemed to be constantly pulling her towards her and she couldn't explain it which, honestly, freaked her out a little. But it wasn't just Miss Denali the nurse. It had felt the same with Miss Denali the teacher.

We made it to the classroom and Miss Denali pretended to be not impressed, though secretly Chrissy thought that she had looked elated to see her. She sat in the seat she had in the previous lesson. The lesson passed by and Chrissy hadn't really paid attention to anything that Miss Denali had said. She was too busy trying to sort through her weird feelings.

When the end of the lesson came she didn't hear the bell and jumped when she realised Miss Denali was stood in front of her desk starring intently at her. Her heart took a turn up crazy street from the freight. She started to gather up her things and apologised to Miss Denali. She sped quickly out of the door.

Once she was out of the door her chest suddenly gave one great lurch of pain. She cried out slightly and bent over double just outside the doorway. Kate saw and panicked. She rushed at an inhuman speed to the girl.

"Chrissy!" She nearly shouted in her panic. "Are you alright?"

When she reached her she put an arm around the girls shoulders. Chrissy without thinking turned herself into her teachers embrace so that they were facing. Her head resting on Miss Denali's shoulder as her teacher rubbed her back soothingly.

Once the pain subsided and she could think clearly again, she realised how they were standing and pulled away blushing. Kate smirked at Chrissy amused, though she hid it when she looked at her.

"Sorry," She started, Kate was about to interupted but she continued. "Thanks Miss. I think I'm okay now. I should probably go."

Chrissy recalled what the other children had said about Lizzy being a hard arse on those who came home late from school. Apparently she dished out all sorts of punishment.

Before she could see the reaction of her teacher she sped off down the corridor and towards her locker. She pulled her jacket out and put it on to provide some protection against the cold and made her way back towards the house.

She couldn't remember the exact route to the house, but she was sure she could at least remember enough. And, after almost an hour later she managed to find it.

Aunt Lizzy was waiting by the door of the house for her to arrive.

"You're late," she said coldly with disgust in her voice. "And don't think that because you're new here that you'll get away with it."

She had leaned forward so that she was in her face. She got a very strong whiff of alcohol and smoke. She'd obviously been drinking which could mean something bad for her. She wasn't sure yet what she was going to do.

"You'll be spending tonight in the dog house," She said with a sneer. "Let it serve as a lesson for being late."

She then proceeded to grab her by the jacket and, with surprising strength, she pulled her towards the back door. She opened the door and pushed her out and down the steps into the garden. She pointed evilly to a shed with no door at the back of the garden. The words 'Dog House' had been painted on. She smiled at her then shut the door and locked it.

She made her way towards the shed not seeing any other option. Thankfully there were some blankets and a sleeping bag, but not much else. There was no lights either, not even matches. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3: Ice

Both Denali sisters were anxious to get home this evening. They had spent the whole day at school worrying about Chrissy. She had turned up looking beyond tired. She looked as though she could barely keep her eyes open. Tanya had wanted nothing more than to take her out of class and take her home. Although doing that would probably panic Carmen and Elezer because there was an unexpected human in the house.

Since Tanya had gotten a glance at her during lunchtime she had felt tense and helpless ever since. She had wanted to cuddle up with the girl till she fell asleep. However, that would have looked beyond weird and probably push the girl away.

She and Kate trudged their way through the snow to the front door of their house. Tanya opened the door using her key and the both piled inside. As soon as they had taken their coats off they were greeted by Irina.

She gave each of them a kiss before pulling them both into a group hug between the three. When she pulled back Irina instantly noticed the mood of her sisters. Instantly she began fussing over them and pulled them upstairs to their room. Form there she made them all sit and cuddle on the bed.

"What happened?" Irina asked.

"Nothing really," Tanya spoke, as Kate was clinging to Irina with a death grip and had her face buried in the crook of Irina's neck.

Tanya sighed and leaned into Irina's other side in hopes of comforting herself as well. Irina moved and arm from around Kate to encompass Tanya, encouraging her to lean further into her side.

"She looked so tired, Irina," Kate spoke softly moving her head to look at them. "Throughout my lesson she almost kept falling asleep, and she looked as though she was struggling with the task."

Irina nodded and sighed in frustration. Tanya and Kate smiled sympathetically at Irina. They understood that while they had both met Chrissy, Irina hadn't yet. Not only that, but Irina had already expressed that she somehow felt connected to the girl when she hadn't even met her.

For the rest of the evening they stayed up in their room cuddling and watching films and TV shows on their television. Though each of them felt restless at not being able to do anything to help Chrissy.

By the end of the week Chrissy felt exhausted. Her Aunt had put her to work doing all sorts of chores. It wasn't that Chrissy minded the chores, she did, however, mind the hour at which she was being asked to do them. Lizzy has woken her up last night at three in the morning to clean the whole kitchen. She did the dishes, washed the windows, floor, counters and table. After that Lizzy had made her set the table ready for breakfast. By the time she had got back to bed it half five in the morning and her alarm would go off in about half an hour.

This had happened all week after her night in the dog house. Lizzy would wake her up at random point and make her do chores. And, now, because of it, Chrissy hadn't gotten a single night of peaceful sleep.

She was in her first class of the day with Mr Fitzherbert again. She was trying her hardest to pay attention to what he was saying but it was difficult. She was too tired to concentrate, and her eyelids felt like lead. That, and his voice was sending her to sleep. It wasn't soothing, as such, just very monotone, which in her state of mind was just like white noise.

She was just falling asleep with her head on her hand when she was jolted awake abruptly by a bang on her desk. Her eyes flung open to see that Mr Fitzherbert had slammed a book on her desk next to her to wake her up. She blushed a bright red at being caught and having the whole class pay attention to her.

"Am I boring you, Miss Woods?" Her asked angrily.

"N-no, sir," She replied feebly.

"Good then you can spend some time with me after school," He said.

She groaned quietly to herself at having been issued detention. What she had been thinking when she had promised herself she would rest her eyes? Of course she would fall asleep, and in his class too.

The day passed and it was her final lesson of the day with Miss Denali. She made it to her seat and slumped in her chair. Greatful that the end of the day was here and that she'd be able to return home and go to sleep.

The teacher moved about in front of the class all the while talking and asking them questions. Chrissy's eyes started to droop as she listened to the voice of her teacher. The melodic voice washed over her and made her feel more tired than before. Her eyes eventually gave out and closed and with it, her mind relaxed. She was asleep within seconds.

A hand was shaking her shoulder and a voice was speaking above her. The shaking stopped and a hand ran through her hair when her eyes started fluttering. It was at this point that Chrissy started to hear the voice talking to her, the person's face also coming into focus.

"Come on, Chrissy," the voice spoke. "Class is over."

Becoming more aware of her surroundings, Chrissy sat up as she realised it was her teacher standing over her. She blushed as she thought about her teachers affectionate touch of her hair, and how much she had like it.

"I'm sorry, Miss," Chrissy said in embarrassment.

"It's quite alright, dear," Kate quickly reassured her. "You looked rather tired, anyway."

"Are you not mad at me?" Chrissy asked still sat at her desk.

"No, I'm not," Kate replied watching the shocked expression on the girls face. "Even though you fell asleep. Just promise me you will get some sleep this weekend."

"I'll try," Chrissy said looking at her hands which has linked together in her nerves and awkwardness.

"Good," Kate nodded feeling slightly better for her. "Now, you go home and-"

She never got to finish her sentence as Chrissy jumped up from her seat with a horrified expression. She started to quickly gather her things in her bag, throwing anything anywhere.

"Fuck," She whispered to herself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Kate laughed to herself. Who knew the innocent looking girl had such a vocabulary. She stopped briefly as she remembered her teacher, who she gave a sheepish and apologetic smile to.

"I'm sorry, but I have detention with Mr Fitzherbert," She explained, a small frown marred her forehead. "I, ur, fell asleep in his class."

Kate outright sniggered at this and walked Chrissy to Mr Fitzherbert's classroom. She had been made to stay for at least fifteen minutes before she was allowed to leave.

She walked home by herself in a foul mood. She was tired and grumpy, and not to mention, hungry. Lizzy had purposefully forgotten to give her lunch and other meals. Thankfully, she hadn't stopped every single one of her meals, but it had been enough to make her feel hungry nearly all the time. When she made it back, Lizzy was furious. Angrier than she had seen her before.

She had dragged her up the stairs to her bedroom, made her pack a bag with cloths and whatever else she wanted. She had then dragged her back down the stairs and out the front door. Exclaiming that she never wanted to see her again.

After having the door shut on her face and being left outside with her school bag and another rucksack, she didn't know what she should do. She would never last the night out on the streets. It was dangerous because of both people and the cold weather. Deciding she shouldn't just stand where she was, that might infuriate her aunt even more, she started walking down the street.

Eventually after walking for a while, she saw a forest in the distance. The trees, she realised, would provide some shelter against the weather. She could probably make up a small camp if she found some wood and somehow some matches.

She walked for what felt like hours. She didn't stop as she broke through the treeline, but kept going seeing how far she could go. She didn't get too far before she started to feel tired and cold. The snow hadn't been shoveled out of the way in the woods, and her feet and ankles were now freezing and practically numb. Her hands weren't much better seeing as she didn't have any gloves. She had already slipped a couple of times, which had caused her cloths to become wet from the snow that had stuck to her.

Her thoughts started to drift to thoughts about her teacher and the nurse. She had seen them today at lunch talking with each other. She had been watching closely and had realised, with a sinking feeling, that they showed each other the affection of more than just friends. Not to mention just they way they looked at each other.

Chrissy had also realised with a start that she was jealous. She wasn't sure of who though. She came to the realisation that she liked both of them, yet, they had looked so content together that she wouldn't dream of even imagining them apart. With this in mind her day had become worse. She was tired and feeling upset that she really didn't have the slightest chance with either woman. And that had been ignoring the fact that they were her teachers, although that didn't bother her so much because she was eighteen and in the last year of high school.

She dropped her bags on the floor deciding to wander around the clearing she had just found. With her bags settled by the rocks and her face upturned towards the sky, she walked to the centre of the clearing. Her thoughts were still replaying her interactions with the Denali sisters. How could they be sisters, and act toward each other as they had?

There was a cracking sound that brought her out of her thoughts and she looked down. She froze as she realised she was standing in the middle of a frozen lake, and not a clearing. Albeit it was quite small, but she had no idea how deep it was if she were to fall through.

Her heart beat accelerate with the pedal to the floor and her breathing became quicker as she panicked. She took a step back in the direction she came but the ice creaked even more below her. She searched her pockets for her phone. When she found nothing in her pockets at all she remembered her bag was at the edge of the lake, and it had her phone.

She tried to shuffle once again but the ice started to crack further. This time the cracking didn't stop and she watched as the cracks multiplied and spread out around her. She knew it was coming but she screamed anyway. Her scream pierced the area, and joint with crash of ice and water, managed to scare some birds from the trees.

She managed to resurface from the water and grip onto the edge of the hole. The ice was cold and froze her bear fingers further and made them feel stiff. The icy feeling spread quickly through her body. She started to shiver violently from the temperature of the water.

Realising she had to do something otherwise she would never get out, she started screaming and shouting for help. They started off loud enough but the cold was quickly getting to her. Her asthma could be triggered by a bitter wind in winter, and now it felt as if someone was strangling her. Her throat was quickly closing up due to the frigid water around her chest and the stinging air she was inhaling. Her shouts were turned to strangled gasps.

"Shit!"

The shout had made her look up. A women with blonde hair was standing near the edge looking panicked at her. She watched as the woman quickly removed her coat and walked across the ice, leaving her coat behind. The ice gave way under her too, but she seemed unaffected by it's freezing temperature. When she reached Chrissy, she grabbed hold of her. Chrissy didn't complain and hung tightly to the woman still trying to breath properly. The woman quickly swan back to land with Chrissy in her arms. She picked up her coat and wrapped it around the violently shivering girl.

Chrissy tried to speak but she couldn't, her lungs protested, but the stranger seemed to understand. She rushed to Chrissy's bag and found the blue inhaler. She shook it and put it to Chrissy's mouth. Chrissy managed to push down and intake the gas. Immediately her lungs and chest felt freer. She did it again, not bothering to ask the stranger to shake it again. She figured she'd just do it and stop herself from dying.

The woman then burst into action quickly. She put both rucksacks on her back somehow and pulled Chrissy into her arms bridle style. Chrissy was feeling to weak to object and she didn't know if she would be able to talk yet. The coat felt warmer than the air, despite her cloths being cold. But then woman began to run.

Chrissy stared shocked at the woman as she ran. She had been surprised when she had been able to carry both her and the rucksacks, and now she was running? This woman must be all kinds of crazy strong. They made it to a house eventually, and the woman set her down by the door on the floor as she hastily opened the door. Once the door was open she shouted for someone whilst picking me up again.

A woman with darker hair appeared round a corner and gasped when she saw me. She rushed upstairs without saying a word and the blonde carrying me followed, not bothering to shut the door.

They took me to a bedroom which I presumed was a guest room because of its non personalised decorations. The blonde sat me down on the chair the dark haired woman had placed in the centre of the room, before disappearing. The blonde put the bags down and came towards me.

"We need to get you out of these cloths," she said softly.

I nodded my head in agreement and began to move my frozen arms to get the coat off. She helped, and then helped me take off my other cloths, but left me in my underwear. The dark haired woman had come back and wrapped me in towel.

I pointed to the bigger of my rucksacks, hoping to indicate that there were cloths. The tall blonde nodded and brought the bag over, opening and placing it in my lap to pull the cloths out. My hands were still shaking but I managed to pull out a long sleeve top and a pair of jogging bottoms and fresh underwear.

The woman turned around and I took that as indication to change my underwear. Once I had dry a pants and bra on I reached for my top and trousers. Carmen had turned round to see how I was doing, and seeing that I was decent enough helped me into the top I was trying to get on. My arms were struggling to pull it over my head. The exhaustion I had felt before my unexpected dip, had increased tenth fold.

She helped me pull it over my head and held me steady as I shimmed into my trousers. I leant against her when they were up, my eyes barely staying open. The woman didn't push me away at the contact but pulled me closer so that she was hugging me to her front. I was facing her with my head on her shoulder, and her arms around my shoulder and back.

I felt hands move my hair and the feel of a towel near my neck. I presumed the blonde woman was drying my hair with the barely used towel, as the dark haired woman was still holding onto me. I fell asleep against the woman's shoulder too exhausted to keep my eyes open.


	4. Chapter 4: Oh, Well

When Chrissy woke up again she was tucked in a bed with layers upon layers of blankets. The heat she had suddenly generated was lovely. It was warmer than she had been for the whole week that she had spent in Denali. She could have easily fallen back asleep in the warmth of the blankets but her curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know where she was. Not only that but she needed to thank the woman who had saved her and the other who had helped her as well.

She peeled the blankets back, instantly feeling the cold brush against her skin. She shivered at the loss of warmth but managed to stand from the bed and pull herself towards the door. Her limbs felt achy from being so cold after the lake. Her head didn't feel much better.

She managed to stumble down the hallway, still half asleep. She used the walls and banister as a guide. She tripped on the last step as her foot caught the carpet. She could feel her body fly through the air and she closed her eyes in preparation for the pain. She couldn't stop the small squeak that escaped her lips. Before she could hit the ground, arms had wound their way around her waist and she was being steadied close to a body.

When she opened her eyes she was now stood at the bottom of the stairs. The person who had caught her was the woman who had rescued her yesterday. And gathered a little ways to the side were four other people. Chrissy blushed a furious shade of red at her trip, and managed to stutter out a thank you to the woman who was still holding her.

"How are you feeling?" The woman with dark hair approached slightly, almost cautiously.

"Fine, I, ur," Chrissy stumbled over her words. She hadn't realised how beautiful these people were. Nor their golden eyes, which were the same as her two Denalis at school. "Th-thank you...for, yesterday, I mean."

Chrissy could feel the heat in her cheeks and she knew that she was blushing. She looked down at her feet avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Chrissy..."

She heard her name, which sounded like it was a question more than a statement. Her head snapped up though. She hadn't told anyone her name. So how...

Stepping forward was both her teacher and the school nurse. The Denali sisters stood smiling at her with worried eyes.

"Oh, um," Chrissy fumbled again. "Hi."

"Hello, again," Tanya said. "We really need to stop meeting in these circumstances. Or maybe you just need to be more careful?"

The question made Chrissy's cheeks flare again, as she realised she was referencing her apparent clumsiness. That and how it was that they had met for the first time. She looked down again embarrassed, a small sheepish smile on her face. Tanya and Kate chuckled at her reaction. Chrissy also felt the laughter from the blonde she still didn't know yet. They were stood close enough for Chrissy to feel the vibrations from her chest.

Startled slightly, Chrissy went to pull away from her. But before she could move even a millimetre away, the woman tightened her grip and pulled her closer. They were basically hugging with how they were stood facing each other and how close they were. Her face flushed with the proximity, and she felt it darken as she looked into the woman's smiling face.

"Irina," It sounded like it was a warning, and had come from one of her sisters.

The woman holding me sighed, but pulled back and let me go. She still stood close, but not so close that it would be intrusive.

"We have a lot to discuss, Christine," Tanya said to the girl.

Christine paled slightly and they could all hear her heartbeat increase. With her heart hammering Chrissy nodded and followed them into a dining room, which joined on to a kitchen. There was a table large enough for twelve people. Tanya gestured that she should take a seat and she did as everyone else did as well.

Kate sat beside her and the dark haired woman sat on her other side, while Tanya and Irina sat opposite her with the only person she had yet to interact with.

"Before we start," Tanya said. "The woman next to you is Carmen, and the woman who saved you yesterday, is Irina, and lastly this is Eleazar. Just in case you didn't know my name is Tanya and that's Kate."

"You don't need to call us Miss when we're not in school," Kate said. "Though I wouldn't object to it if-"

"Kate!" Carmen hissed quickly interupting before she could finish.

Chrissy smiled in greeting to those who she had newly been introduced to. She decided to ignore Kate's words when her mind had started a path that led to nowhere but the gutter.

"Why were you out there all alone?" Irina asked her.

"I was walking," Christine said. She didn't know whether she should tell them the truth or not.

"Hmm," Was the general response she seemed to get from all five vampires.

"Look, I get that your concerned, but I'm fine." I said looking at them. "I didn't plan on freezing to death. That was just an accident."

Tanya sighed. She was telling the truth but it didn't explain the contents of the girls bag, and why she would choose to go walking so far away from the town or why she was alone. It was Alaska for Christ's sake, there were animals that were out there that were dangerous. Not including themselves.

"Were you running away?" Kate asked her softly.

Christine turned to look at Kate shocked.

"As if would be stupid enough to run away in Alaska," Christine bit back defensively. "Besides, if I had run away I would have made myself better prepared."

Her answer stunned the vampires. She was telling the truth again. Not to mention they felt foolish for thinking that the girl would be silly enough to run away into the wild with nothing but a school bag and a bag of cloths and toiletries.

"Then...why?" Tanya asked.

"Why what?" Christine asked back. She knew what she was asking, she just wanted to stall to be able to think about this.

"Why the packed bag of cloths?" Irina answered. "Why walk into the woods all by yourself? Just why?"

Christine sat silently for a moment. She wasn't a good liar. She didn't even think she would be able to lie to these women. They had been nothing but kind to her since they met. Even if she was slightly put out by their obvious relationship.

"I..." She struggled with how to explain, and sighed with frustration. "My Aunt...She doesn't like me very much."

Tanya raised an eyebrow as if to say 'So?', which spurred Christine to continue.

"In fact, she doesn't really like any of us who live there."

"There?" Kate asked.

"Ur, the local orphanage," Christine replied hesitantly afraid of how they would react. Instead of waiting to see she continued on to the next part.

"When I came home late on the first day of school because I got lost on the way home, she decided to punish me by making me do chores. She woke me up randomly in the night for the whole of this week."

They all looked as though they were going to say something, but before they could, she continued.

"So by the time I got to Mr Fitzherbert's class on Friday, I fell asleep in his class. He gave me detention and made me late home again. My aunt didn't like me very much for it and so, she, ur, kicked me out."

Once Christine had said all of that she looked up at the Denali's. All of their eyes seemed to have become darker and the three sisters looked murderous. The look caught Christine by surprise and she didn't know what to make of it, except that it scared her.

Her heart rate increased and her hands shook a little. Kate who was closest to her pulled her into a hug, across their seats. Christine stiffened at the hug, not expecting the action after the look in their eyes.

"Hey, it's cool, calm down," Kate whispered in her ear, as she rubbed her back. "We didn't mean to scare you, it's just that we're mad at your aunt for treating you like that."

Christine calmed down at hearing Kate's words, and pulled back from her teachers embrace. She blushed, embarrassed that she had freaked out a little.

"Christine," It was Eleazar who spoke, making her look up. "You're welcome to stay here, if you would like."

He looked to Tanya as he said this, and she nodded her approval. None of the Denalis objected to the idea either. She was a part of their family, regardless of whether Christine realised or felt it.

"Oh, I," Christine chewed her bottom lip in thought. She wouldn't mind staying with them, but she certainly didn't want to intrude. "I couldn't..."

"Chrissy," Tanya spoke deadly serious and locking eyes with Christine. "You haven't got anywhere else to go, and besides, nobody here is objecting to you staying."

Christine's shoulders slumped as she realised she wouldn't win against Tanya. She nodded her head.

"In that case, there is something else we should tell you," Irina said.

This instantly got Christine's attention and she sat up a bit from her slouched position.

"You have to believe us when we say it," Kate added. "Promise you'll hear us out?"

"Does this have anything to do with your eyes and how cold you all are?" Christine asked, taking them by surprise. "Not to mention your strength."

The last part was directed at Irina as Christine recalled briefly how she had carried her, and her possessions, all the way back here, all the while she had run the distance and pretty quickly too.

"Yes, it does," Tanya said. "You see...There's no easy way to explain this."

"We're vampires," Kate blurted quickly as if ripping off a plaster.

"Oh, well," Christine's eyebrows furrowed as she thought about it. "Why don't you guys have capes or fangs? You're supposed to be scary, aren't you?"

Nobody said anything after that and they just stared at her. Christine started to shift a little where she was sat. In her mind it did make sense. The strength and speed of Irina, the cold that she had felt from all of them and their eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"You should be running, screaming, hell, you should be cowering in the corner," Kate said with wide eyes. "And you're asking us why we're not scary?"

"Umm, sorry?" Christine didn't really know what to do in truth. She trusted these people, ur, vampires, so she had no reason to run. If they had wanted to eat they would probably have done so already.

At that Kate burst out in laughter sending chuckles around the group.

"You took that rather well," Tanya said thoughtfully. "You haven't met vampires before, have you?"

"No," Chrissy replied. "I'm pretty sure I haven't."

"We are so keeping her," Kate said happily, grinning at Chrissy.

Christine then found herself suddenly uprooted from her chair and placed in Kate's lap. She could feel Kate nuzzling her neck like a cat. She flushed at the action, not quite sure what exactly was socially demanded of a situation such as this. She had stiffened considerably. She wasn't sure whether she wanted her to stop or continue.

"Kate," Tanya voice stopped Kate's actions, and Kate seemed to realise what she was doing.

"Oh, um, right," Kate said sheepishly.

She was quickly set back in her original seat before she could even blink. She had a mini freak out as she realised she had been moved at an inhuman speed. She stared at Kate wide eyed.

"Can you all move that fast?" She asked amazed. Sure Irina had run fast, but it wasn't anything near as fast as Kate had just moved.

"Yes. We can," a voice beside her ear made her jump and look to her left where she found Irina grinning at her. This time Chrissy smiled back.

"This is actually, really, really cool," She said more to herself than the others.

"Yeah! It is!" Kate shouted, then leant closer to Chrissy and looked at her through her eyelashes, while placing a hand on her knee. "And we're going to have so much fun."

Stunned by the thought of what the implication of Kate's words, Chrissy's face heated more than she ever recalled it becoming. She stuttered a little trying to form a response of some kind, but thankfully she didn't have to.

Carmen had stood up and moved between her and Kate. She gave Kate her best glare that said behave yourself. Before turning and crouching beside Christine.

"Ignore Kate," She spoke kindly. "I do. It makes it easier to put up with her."

Carmen smirked as she looked at Christine. Chrissy could see the frown that had formed on Kate's face at Carmen's teasing.

"Hey!" Kate complained.

Carmen took hold of Christine's hand and tugged to get her to stand. She smiled and started to lead Chrissy over to the island in the kitchen by her hand. Once Christine had taken a seat on a stool, Carmen moved to the other side.

"So, what would you like to eat," She asked.

"Oh, um, anything really," Christine wasn't sure what they would have. Did vampires even buy food?

"Pick anything, dear, Irina went to the shops to pick up some stuff," She explained.

"Oh, um," Christine shrugged.

"How about lasagne or I could do pancakes?" Carmen decided to offer food choices. "Seeing as it's half way between lunch and breakfast we can make whatever."

Christine smiled at that. She didn't much fancy pancakes. She had been practically starved by her aunt, and lasagne seemed like a much better option.

"Lasagne, please," Chrissy asked.

Carmen smiled and started pulling things from the fridge and cupboards. Christine felt a presence beside her and looked to see Irina there. She smiled shyly at the blonde, who beamed back at her. They sat in silence, side by side, as they watched Carmen work.

"I never got to thank you for what you did," Christine said to her, breaking the silence, which had been comfortable before Christine decided to break it with her awkwardness.

"That's quite alright," Irina smiled at Chrissy. "The gratitude and relief in your eyes as I pulled you out was enough to know you were, at the very least, grateful."

"But still, thank you," Chrissy's response brought her another smile.

Staying here with the Denalis, Chrissy realised, would probably be one of the best things that had happened to her. Between her parents recent death and moving, she hadn't been able to relax, or get decent sleep. She felt calm here. There was a peace within her that had started when she got here. It felt like she belonged.


	5. Chapter 5: Realisation

As Christine finished off her lasagne she found herself being led from the stool by Irina. They went through the downstairs of the house and came to an entertainment room. There was a TV set up with different game's consoles being housed in the space beneath. A cupboard to the side was filled with the different games for the consoles. On the couch sat Kate and Tanya who were already playing a game.

Irina pulled her over to the space beside the two players and sat next to her. Due to the limited space on the couch and there being four people sat on it, they were all closely seated. Christine's arms were touching both Irina's and Tanya's. Her realised crush on all three blondes came to the for front of her mind with the feeling of how nice it felt to be sat there. She was embarrassed to admit that she liked the feel of their skin on hers, but it wasn't just that. Sitting next to them and just watching Tanya and Kate banter back and forth made her feel happy. It made her feel more than that but it was a feeling she couldn't describe.

She felt for these women as if she had know them the whole of her life. She didn't know how next week would turn out when she would have to go back to her Aunt. She knew her Aunt would most likely want her back, she was probably claiming money for her being there, even if she was eighteen. She didn't have any doubts her aunt was content to lie to receive child benefit. The thoughts of her leaving brought back that painful feeling again in her chest. This time it seemed to have increased a lot. Her hand flung to her chest and over her heart where it hurt the most. Her breathing even took on an odd pace. She leant forward slightly hoping to relieve the pain, but it didn't seem to help.

"Chrissy," Irina beside her had started rubbing her back. She could hear the game had been paused but she wasn't looking as her eyes were closed against the pain.

She felt herself being shifted and became aware of the body behind her. She had been sat in someone's lap and they had their arms around her waist, gently rubbing her stomach. Someone was sat in front of her, pressed against her knees with their hands creating patterns on her lower thighs. She could feel hands on her cheeks and a forehead pressed against hers.

"Christine, breath," Tanya's voice was calm and authoritative. "Follow Irina's breathing."

She focused on matching the movements of the chest behind her, and she could feel herself calm down. Her heart rate, which had increased in her panic, slowed to its normal rate. The scent of the three woman around her was also helping her. They smelt amazing, she wondered breifly if that was a part of their adaptations. She realised that with humans being their main food source they must have ways of attracting humans. The ones that Christine could recall were their beauty and their smell.

Shaking her head of those thoughts, she opened her eyes to look at the woman in front of her. Although she was attracted to them, they must genuinely care about her if they were being so nice to her all the time. The question was, why did she like them? Was she simply attracted to them because of their vampire enhanced beauty, or was it something else.

"Chrissy..."

It was a whisper that snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked downwards in the direction it had come from. Kate had stilled the movement of her hands, and Christine found she wished she hadn't.

"Are you okay?" Tanya asked her. She still had that authority in her voice, like she was falling into her role of school nurse Christine supposed.

"Yeah, it was..." Her reply fell short. What had it been? "I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Irina asked her.

"I don't know what it was." She replied. She could feel the frustration at not knowing building up. She had tried to figure it out earlier this week when it had started. Then again, when it had struck her outside Kate's classroom.

"Your chest, where did it hurt?" Tanya has completely switched to doctoring mode now.

"Umm, my heart," Christine said. "It felt like it was...like it was burning?" She hoped that was a decent enough reply.

Tanya shared a meaningful look with her sisters. Tanya wasn't sure how, but Christine could feel the mating pull. She was sure of it. The look of pain when she had been sat alone that first lunchtime. Then the incident outside Kate's classroom (which had Kate come rushing home that day to relay what had happened to her). They had suspected then that she could feel it, but now she was certain. She just had one more question.

"Christine," She caught the girls attention again. "What were you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Christine stared at her.

"When the pain started, what were you thinking about?"

"Um," Christine wasn't sure what that had to do with anything but she answered anyway. "I was thinking about here and you guys, and about how I would have to go back to my aunt."

Tanya smiled softly at Christine, who looked lost and confused. She did feel the pull, which was incredibly strange. She shouldn't be able to feel the pull as a human, at least not that strongly anyway.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

"It's hard to explain at the moment," Kate said, surprising her sisters. "We can teach you about vampires, if you like, and eventually we will explain how we, you and Carmen feel."

"Oh," Was Christine's reply. "I would like that."

They all smiled at her warmly, but nobody moved as they let the silence encase them. The content feeling was back. It couldn't simply be from the attraction that she felt for them. The emotions ran deeper than that. They had become everything to her in the week that she had gotten to know them, and she had no doubt that she would feel the same about Irina, Carmen and Eleazar given time. Although she already felt something more for the three sisters, of that, she was sure.

"I've got her Tanya," Carmen took a sleeping Christine from Tanya's arms. "You wanted to speak to Eleazar, didn't you?"

Tanya let Christine go reluctantly, but nodded her head at Carmen's question anyway. She shuffled back to the sofa and her mates, as Carmen walked gracefully up the stairs to their bedroom. They had guest rooms but the thought of having her away from them when she could be near, was painful. They had decided she would sleep in their bed, and they would be able to keep watch from elsewhere in the room if she needed them. They didn't dare invade her privacy yet. They knew she felt something but they wouldn't do anything until she was ready to admit that. That didn't mean they couldn't help her along. Kate would definitely be hard to contain otherwise.

Tanya seated herself with the others all gathered around the kitchen table, minus Christine and Carmen, who would be back in a minute. They waited patiently for a few seconds before Carmen came through the door and seated herself next to Eleazar, at vampire speed. Carmen was smiling to herself, before she seemed to bring herself to the meeting. Seeing Carmen happy made Tanya smile. Carmen had been nothing but a mother to the three sisters when they had met. She deserved all the happiness in the world.

"So, Eleazar, I wanted to ask about something we have noticed with Christine," Tanya started.

He nodded his head to show that he was listening and that she could continue.

"We think that she feels the mating pull, but to a greater extent than humans should be able to. Is that possible?"

His brow scrunched up in thought as he stayed silent for a few moments thinking it through.

"I don't see why not," he started. "Most humans don't feel the pull to the extent that we do because it would kill them. Maybe it is possible that she is gifted. Or she could just be strong enough to feel what's there. Both are possible."

"Hmm," Tanya thought about his words. "So there is no way of knowing?"

He shook his head, "Not until she is a vampire. If it is a gift, she probably wouldn't be able to access it until she is a vampire."

The sisters shared a look of frustration, while nodding their agreement with Eleazar. They would push Christine to become a vampire but it was the law, and they would change her eventually, but only when she felt ready. They'd all feel horrible if they had to force something like that on her, but Tanya was fairly certain that she wouldn't object much. She had reacted so calmly to them telling her that they were vampires.

They all left the table and went their seperate ways. Although no one said it aloud, they were all wondering when she would wake up.

Carmen could hear the discussion happening downstairs about Christine's response to the pull. She listened to what was being said as she carried the girl at a human pace to the sisters' bedroom.

She had looked awful the first time that they had met. She was almost blue with cold, and she could barely stand without needing assistance. Carmen had reacted towards her the way she had reacted when she first met the sisters. Instantly she knew that she had been blessed with another child, though she did admit, that the connection she felt to Christine was stronger than hers to the sisters. She acted motherly towards them, and she truly did think of them as daughters, but Christine was something else. She felt a stronger urge to care and protect her. It may simply come from the fact that she was so young, and human. Both of which, in her eyes, made her vulnerable.

She placed Christine in the centre of the bed. She stirred in her sleep as her position was changed, reaching out to find Carmen, who she had been snuggled against on her trip up the stairs. Carmen held her hand and ran the other through her hair. Surprising Carmen, Christine almost instantly relaxed at her touch and fell asleep. She stayed until she was certain that she wouldn't wake again, before she left to join the others, who had moved to the living room.

She sat beside Eleazar on the loveseat and snuggled into his side as he placed his arms around her. She smiled at the sight of the sisters tangled together on the sofa. Christine would be adored by the sisters, she was sure of it, and Christine would love them just the same. Even if a part of her wanted to suddenly doubt the sisters and protect her from them. The new motherly instincts were going to drive her crazy. When Kate had made her uncomfortable earlier, she had wanted to tackle Kate out of her chair for being insensitive. She knew Kate hadn't meant anything by it, and had managed to surpress her growl. Instead giving her a glare as a warning.

She sighed and lent further into Eleazar, closing her eyes and relaxing her body. She would have to warn the sisters about her feelings. It wouldn't do for them to misinterpret her feelings.


End file.
